Everything You Need to Know About Dogs!

08/12/2009

Does Your Dog Bite?

From the Pink Panther Strikes Again:

Clouseau: Does your dog bite?Hotel Clerk: No.Clouseau: (bowing down to pet the dog) Nice doggie.(Dog barks and bites Clouseau in the hand)Clouseau: I thought you said your dog did not bite!Hotel Clerk: That is not my dog.

There are a lot of reasons to
teach our dogs to inhibit their mouthing or biting. Young children and older
folks have thinner skins and easily bruise or get a skin break. If we teach our dogs to inhibit their bite, then there is less risk of an accident, including
an unintentional or non-aggressive one.

I start with puppies in the
whelping box to teach them their teeth are sharp. As soon as they begin to use
their needlelike little teeth on my hands, but not to the point of breaking
skin, I say “OW!” I don’t move my hand until the puppy removes his mouth from
my hand, once the mouth is off my hand I praise the pup in a low-key tone of
voice so he doesn’t start right in again. He usually has a surprised look on
his face, like what a namby-pamby you are!

If he persists in the mouthing or
biting, I get up and walk away. Or I’ll let him know I am unhappy that he hurt
me with my tone of voice. For example, “You hurt me and I’m not going to play
with you.” I don’t want to frighten the puppy, but I want to act similarly to
what a littermate would do--yelp in pain or leave if things get too rough.

If you are having problems with
your puppy biting, teach the puppy that he does not get what he wants as long
as his mouth is on you:

1) If the puppy is grabbing for
the treat, take your hand away and offer the treat again. If the puppy reaches
for or grabs the treat, remove your hand. Repeat this as many times as
necessary until the puppy realizes that grabbing for the treat gets him
nowhere. If the puppy calmly sits still and does not grab for the treat, click
(if you are doing clicker training) and give him the treat.

2) If you are petting your puppy
and he is mouthing or biting you while you are petting, stop the petting! You
are telling the puppy that it is OK to bite or mouth while being petted,
because you continue to pet! Take your hand away quickly and try again, every
time the puppy attempts to mouth or bite you, remove your hand. When the puppy
calmly accepts petting, click and treat, and pet your pal!

3) If your puppy bites you or the
leash while putting the leash on, apply copious amounts of Bitter Apple and
click and treat for calmly sitting and allowing you to put the lead on. Remove
your hand every time the puppy grabs for the leash or your hand.

"OFF" Command

Teach “OFF” as a command just like
you would Sit or Come. “Off” can mean; off of couch, no jumping up (instead of
using the word “down” which means lie down), no grabbing hands or clothes in
play.

Step
1) Give the puppy a piece of food “for free” and say “take it” while giving him
the food.

Step
2) Hold a treat in your hand so the puppy can smell and lick it, but is unable
to eat it. (You will probably need to fold your fingers in and tuck your thumb
in too).When the pup voluntarily
stops mouthing/licking your hand, either by stopping or looking away, click,
praise and give the treat with “take it.” Timing of the praise with the moment
the dog looks away or stops is important; it should be instantaneous.Do this 6 times, (it may take some patience
for the puppy to give up and stop trying to get the treat), each time praise
when the puppy stops on its own and immediately give the treat with “take it”.

Step
3) While the dog is mouthing your hand, tell it “Off” in a low tone of voice.
Wait until the puppy stops mouthing, then immediately click, praise while it is
off, and give treat. Puppies that really “get it” might sit and wait, which is
wonderful. Or they even might start to wander away. That’s OK, still praise them and give
them the treat.

Step
4) Increase the time that the puppy is “Off” from 2 seconds, then 5, up to 7
seconds.

Step
5) Use “take it” when giving food. You may have to be firm when saying “Off,”
the degree of firmness depends on the individual puppy.

If you are having difficulty with
this exercise because the puppy is biting too hard, hold food enclosed in your
right hand so that the puppy cannot eat it, but spray the outside of your
fingers with Grannick’s Bitter Apple. When you are giving a treat with the
“take it” command, use your left hand that has not been sprayed. Once your dog
understands the OFF command with your hand you can generalize to clothes,
furniture, etc. If your puppy is uninterested in the treat, you’ll need to find
a treat good enough to entice the pup, but not so great that it really bites
your hand. Or do this exercise before a meal so that the puppy is a little bit
hungry.